As first stimulus check looms, lawmakers working towards next round of relief

As the U.S. nears 17,000 coronavirus deaths, our team in Washington, D.C. is examining the issues that likely won’t be featured tonight during primetime cable news — including what’s being done to get additional financial relief to Americans and small businesses. You can watch their original reporting in the video above.

— About a half billion people could be pushed into poverty as a result of the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic unless richer countries take “urgent action” to help developing nations, a leading aid organization warned Thursday. Oxfam has urged richer countries to step up their efforts to help the developing world or risk setting back the fight against poverty by a decade and by as much as 30 years in some areas, including Africa and the Middle East.

— The number of Americans getting on airplanes has sunk to a level not seen in more than 60 years as people shelter in their homes to avoid catching or spreading the new coronavirus. One analyst estimated that air travel demand won’t return to pre-outbreak levels until the middle of next year under the best outcome, and it’s likely to be later.